Bottle closure



June 25,1935. JjHRA sEY 2,005,753

BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Dec. 27, 1953 JOSEPH H RRMSEY INVENTOR -WJMATTORNEY Patented June 25, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I BOTTLECLOSURE Joseph H. Ramsey, Albany, N. Y. Application December 27, 1933,Serial No. 704,156

13 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and improved method for securingprotective skirted paper or tissue caps upon the mouth portions ofbottles, containers and the like and. more particularly upon the mouthportions of milk bottles which, because of the large quantities in dailyuse, provide a wide field of usefulness for my improvements.

Milk bottles are exceptionally proficient carriers of disease germs asthey are commonly handied by their mouth portions in the collection ofthe empty ones and in the distribution of the refilled ones. Also themouth portions of milk bottles are usually exposed to contamination fromthe dirt and dust of the streets, both during delivery and while placedat doorways etc., and germs that find lodgement at the mouths of suchbottles are in circumstances favorable to their multiplication andgrowth as milk affords an excellent medium for their propagation. Whenmilk is poured out of a bottle it. passes over considerable of the mouthportion that has been exposed to contamination and germs that have foundlodgement upon it may readily be washed into the milk stream and becomea menace to the health of the persons who consume it.

As the foregoing is matter of more or less common knowledgeit iscustomary among many milk distributors to protect the mouth' portions ofmilk bottles with skirted or hooded caps, but because of theirrelatively high cost and the expense of securing them upon the necks ofthe bottles, such protection is generally restricted to the moreexpensive types of milk products such as the grade A and cream.

The usual form of protection consists of a preformed and printed cap ofopaque paper in the form of an inverted cup which, after being placedover the mouth portion of the bottle, has its lower portion or skirtcrimped tightly around the circumference of the bottle neck where it issecured by an annular, super-imposed ring of metal strip or wire. Thismeans of securing the hooded cap has objections in that metal bands arerelatively expensive in themselves andare also diflicult for theconsumers to remove with the result that the paper caps may be merelycut away with a knife over the bottle openings leaving the bands to beremoved later at the bottling plants. When wires are used as a securingmeans they are, in some instances, of very fine gauge and it may benecessary to coat them with solder at an additional expense. 'Such wireswith their small section and sharp ends maycut or puncture the skin .ofpersons handling the bottles and so cause serious injuries andinfections.

Attempts have been made in the past to overcome the objections tometallic fastenings by substituting either a twine or paper strip. Thetwine may be secured by sealing the ends with a metal clip, or withsealing wax which, when it 5 sets, forms a hard nubbin about the ends ofthe twine to hold them together. Paper strip may bev secured around andupon the skirt portion of the hood cap by coating its inner surface witha waterproof cement. Twine, secured at the ends with a metal clip isdiflicult to remove unless a knife is available for cutting the twine.Metal clips or pieces of wire may get into garbage cans with possibleunfortunate results to the animals 15 thatare fed upon the garbage.Sealing wax used for securing the ends of the twine is brittle andfragile when cold and may become broken in the handling andtransportation of the bottles. Paper strips have relatively littletensile strength compared with metal or twine and it is possible forsuch fastenings to become dislodged in the handling. of the bottles. Anyform 'of knot on'ers such technical-difliculties in the design,construction and operation of automatic mechanical means for forming thetie as to be relatively impracticable compared with the simplermechanisms available for metallic bands and wires. This is also true offastenings having their ends tucked beneath circumferentially multiplewindings. Y a

In my method for securing skirted caps to the mouth portions of bottlesI overcome the objections and disadvantages of these earlier types in asimple and effective manner and at a considerable saving in the cost ofmaterials.

Referring to the drawinggforming a part of this application I show themouth portion of a bottle, I, of the sort ordinarily employed in thedairy industry and having the usual printed cap, 40 2, seated within themouth, 3, of the bottle. Over the exterior of the mouth portion I placea sheet of tissue or fabric, which may be a smooth-surfaced and/ortransparent cellulosic tissue such as cellophane and which may bepre-formed, preferably from a disc, either directly upon the mouthportion of the bottle or in any other suitable manner, to comprise aninverted cup or skirted hood cap, I, the lower edges of which extenddownward and well over'the pouring surface, 5, of the bottle for adistance sufllcient to provide a bearing surface for the securing means.In order to crimp the skirt of the cap securely upon the outercircumference of the mouth portion of the bottle I place, mechanicallyor otherwise, upon and around it a double loop, 6, of treated twine ofadequate size and strength for the purpose and formed in the mannerknown and shown in the drawing as a clove hitch. When the extendingends, I, of the twine are pulled uniformly apart the double loop willcontract concentrically upon and around the skirt of the cap until theskirt portion is compressed snugly around the neck of the bottle afterwhich the ends of the string are clipped off at a suitable length fromtheir point of contact with the skirt. It will be noted that the clovehitch is peculiarly adapted for this purpose as it is of such simpleform that it lends itself easily to mechanical application and, in theconcentric contraction of its loops, it will not tend to tear or distortthe skirt of the cap. The twine may be easily removed from its securedposition by grasping either one of the extending ends, I, with thefingers and pulling it backward upon itself which causes the overlappingloop wave, 8, to roll backward along the strand until it uncovers theother extending end,

1, after which the twine is free for removal. However, in order to adaptthis simple form of securing means to the purpose, the clove hitch initself is insuflicient for the reason that it tends to unwind like aclock-spring as soon as the tightening pull on the ends, I, is releasedand thus it is neither commonly intended nor useful for maintaining itsconstructed form when the ends are so released. It thus becomesnecessary. particularly in combination with a glazed or smooth surfacedmaterial such as glassine or cellophane" offering little or nofrictional resistance, to provide a treated twine which will cling tothe skirt surface and thereby counteract the tendency to unwind in thecourse of ordinary handling of the bottle but which will not adheresufliciently to preclude the tightening of the loops securely upon theskirt. Furthermore, the twine when treated should function properlywithin usual variations in temperature and it should maintain theaforementioned characteristics when wet.

In my method I prefer to treat the twine with suitable material beforeit is positioned upon the skirt of the cap but obviously it may be sotreated after it has been positioned upon the skirt or the skirt may becoated before the twine has been positioned without departing from thescope of my invention.

Being unsuccessful in obtaining a commercially available twine havingthe aforesaid characteristics applicant experimented at length withvarious sorts of coatings to the end that material comprising acombination of resin and resin ofl of a semi-fluid consistency was foundto be satisfactory and is preferred for this purpose. Coat ings ofpowdered resin, or canauba wax combined with beeswax, give reasonablysatisfactory results and there are doubtless other types of gummy orclinging materials that may suffice for the purpose.

In one form of my improved method I prefer to form a circular sheet ofcellophane directly upon the mouth portion of the bottle into a skirtedhood cap, for cellophane is both inexpensive and transparent and theprinted matter on the underneath cap, 2, which usually designates theproduct in the bottle may be conveniently read through it. Skirted hoodcaps of opaque paper such as are generally used must be printedatadditional cost to obtain the same results. Because of the soft,flexible characteristics of my twinein combination with the concentricaction of its loops in tightening the skirt upon the bottle and theclinging action of its contracting surfaces, it is particularlyadaptable to the smooth, glassy surface of cellophane. Where fused sealsare used the application of heat to cellophane may 5 cause it to becomebrittle and easily broken in use.

The savings effected together with the other advantages ,of my inventionmake it commercially practicable for use upon milk products of the lowergrades and so enhance public health and well being.

The adaptation of the clove hitch with its treatment to prevent thelooseningof the coils upon the skirt portion of a hood cap in ordinaryhandling is illustrative of one form of my invention which is, ofcourse, applicable to any relative arrangement of loops and ends oftwine upon the skirt portion of a hood cap wherein the addition of agummy material serves to prevent such loosening.

I do not wish to limit the application of my invention to the particularproduct described herein as it is equally applicable to many other formsof containers and receptacles, nor to the exact method herein disclosedas it is obvious that variations may be made without departing from theinvention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a skirted hood cap adapted to be placed over themouth portion of a bottle, loops of twine in the form of a clove hitchpositioned upon and around the skirt of the cap, and a gummy materialapplied to the twine at the clove hitch so as to secure the loops inassembled position on the skirt of the cap.

2. In combination, a skirted hood cap adapted to be placed over themouth portion of a bottle, loops of twine positioned upon and around theskirt of the hood cap and upon the end portions of the twine, and agummy material applied to the twine to cause adjacent surfaces of theloops to cling to each other and to the skirt of the cap so as to securethe cap in assembled position upon the mouth portion of the bottle.

3. In combination, a skirted hood cap adapted to be placed over themouth portion of a bottle, loops of twine in the form of a clove hitchpositioned upon and around the skirt of the cap, and a material appliedto the twine for securing the end portions thereof together, saidmaterial being such as will cause the loops to cling to each other andto the surface of the skirt portion of the hood cap when in assembledposition upon the mouth portion of the bottle and as will maintain theloops securely in assembled position.

4. In combination, a skirted hood cap adapted to be placed over themouth portion of a receptacle, twine looped in the form of a clove hitchpositioned upon and around the skirt of the cap, and'gummy materialapplied to the twine, said gummy material being such as to' provide alim-- ited tendency for the loops to cling to each other and to theskirt portion of the hood cap in such degree as will permit the loopsand skirt to be drawn tightly into operative position when pullisapplied to the ends of the twine and as will maintain the loops securelyin-assembled position.

5. In combination, a skirted hood cap adapted to be placed over themouth portion of a receptacle, loops of twine positioned upon and arounda skirt portion of smooth surfaced material and upon the end portions ofthe twine, and gummy material applied to the twine, said gummy materialbeing such as to provide a limited tend- :1

ency for the loops to cling to each other and to the skirt portion ofthe hood cap in such degree as will permit the loops and skirt to bedrawn tightly into operative position when pull is applied to the endsof the twine and as will maintain the loops securely in assembledposition.

6. In combination, a skirted hood cap having a transparent top andadapted to be placed over the mouth portion 01 a receptacle, loops oftwine positioned upon and around the skirt of the cap and upon the'endportions of the twine, and a gummy material applied to the twine, saidgummy material being such as to provide a limited tendency for the loopsto cling to each other and to the skirt portion of the hood cap in suchdegree as will permit the loops and skirt to be drawn tightly intooperative position upon the mouth portion of the receptacle when pull isapplied to the ends or the twine and as will maintain the loops securelyin assembled position.

7 In combination, a skirted hood cap having a transparent top andadapted to be placed over the mouth portion of a receptacle, twinelooped in the form of a clove hitch positioned upon and around a skirtportion of smooth surfaced material, and a gummy material applied to thetwine, said gummy material being such as to provide a limited tendencyfor the loops to cling to each other and to the skirt portion of thehood cap in such degree as will permit the loops and skirt to be drawntightly into operative position upon the mouth portion 01' thereceptacle when pull is applied to the ends of the twine and as willmaintain the loops securely in assembled position.

8. A method for sealing receptacles which consists in placing a skirtedhood cap upon the mouth portion of a receptacle, placing loops of twinetreated with a gummy material upon and around the skirt portion of thecap, and over the end portions of the twine, and exerting a pullingforce upon the ends of the twine to cause the loops to contractupon andaround the skirt 01' the cap and upon said end portions of the twine andthus to contract and co-incidentally secure the skirt of the cap uponand around the mouth portion of the receptacle.

9. A method for sealing receptacles which consists in placing a skirtedhood cap upon the mouth portion of a receptacle, placing in the form ofa clove hitch loops of twine treated with a gummy material upon andaround the skirt portion of the cap, and exerting a pulling force uponthe ends of the twine to cause the loops to contract upon and around theskirt of the cap and thus to contract and co-incidentallysecure theskirt of the cap upon and around the mouth portion of the receptacle.

10. In combination with a bottle, a hooded cap of flexible materialcovering the mouth or the bottle and having a contractile skirtsurrounding the neck of the bottle, and means for contracting andholding contracted the skirt on the neck of the bottle, said meanscomprising loops of twine encircling the skirt of the cap, and saidloops being gummed substantially throughout their circumferential lengthand, adjacent the end portions of the twine, being intertwined with saidend portions in such manner as to permit the loops to be contractedconcentrically when said end portions are pulled in opposite directionsand as to maintain the loops securely on the skirt of the cap.

11. In combination with a bottle, a hooded cap of flexible material forthe mouth of the bottle, said cap having a contractile skirt surroundingthe neck of the bottle, and means for contracting and holding contractedthe skirt on the neck of the bottle, said means comprising at least twoloops of,twine encircling the skirt or the cap, said loops being gummedsubstantially throughout their circumferential length and beingcontinuous of each other, and the end por-' tions of the twine being allwhereby the loops contract and bind on the skirt when the end portionsof the twine are pulled and co-incidentally said end portions are boundand hold the loops in contracted position.

12. A binding device for contracting and holding contracted the skirt ofa hooded cap on the neck of a bottle, said device comprising at leasttwo loops of twine for encircling the skirt of the cap, said loops beinggummed substantially throughout their circumferential length and beingcontinuous of each other, and the end portions of the twine beingintertwined in the loops, all whereby the loops constrict and bind onthe skirt when the end portions 01' the twine are pulled and the endportions of the twine are held from retrograde slipping and hold theloops in contracted position.

13. A binding device for contracting and holding contracted the skirt ofa hooded cap on the neck of a bottle, said device comprising loops oftwine for encircling the skirtof the cap and end portions of twineextending from the loops, the end portions of the twine beingintertwined with the loops, and said loops and end portions being gummedat the points where they are intertwined, all whereby the end portionsare held from retrograde slipping and the loops are held in contractedposition after being assembled and secured tightly upon the skirt of thecap.

JOSEPH H. RAMSEY.

intertwined in the loops,

